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Sir,

Enclosure 1.

General Officer Commanding Troops in South China to Governor.

Headquarters, Hong Kong, August 25, 1904.

I HAVE the honour to forward to your Excellency the revised Scheme of Defence, i.e., the Scheme of 1903 revised up to date, in accordance with the suggestions and instructions of the Colonial Defence Committee. The Remarks on the 1903 Scheme reached me only on the 30th June, 1904, and after 1 had submitted a revision of the 1901 Scheme.

2. You have added Hon. F. H. May, Colonial Secretary, as an additional member of the Local Defence Committee to represent the Civil Government.

3. Allusion is made in the Scheme to the use of torpedo-nets as a defence to the dock gates. There are 44 nets of an obsolete pattern, and apparently of no use to the Navy, which have been appropriated by the Admiralty to the defence of Hong Kong, and the cost of them is 231. 5s. I recommend that these be handed over to the Dock Companies, and that they be asked to take the necessary measures for the defence of their dock gates.

4. I wish to draw your attention to the weakness of the garrison, and to remark that in some units it is not up to establishment, which you will realise on reference to the table at page 6. I lately brought this to the notice of the officer lately administering the Government.

In repre- senting this weakness I wish to point out that the approved telephone system which has been long begun is not near completion. There are only five R.E.'s working on telephones where ten are required, and of these five only two are completely trained. Therefore it is difficult to instal new telephones in addition to maintaining those already installed.

I draw attention to the fact that the working of the complete telephonic system requires 69 European telephonists. These are to be detailed from the half-battalion of British Infantry, which entails practically the loss of one company out of four from the only available British Infantry reserve. Something might be done to alleviate or remedy this by the provision of trained civilians who might be members of the Volunteers Corps, and a list of whose names might be kept in the Colonial Office.

I am informed that 27 R.G.A. signallers are required for the examination service. These would be found from the R.A. reserve, which at present only amounts to 83; and when casualties arise from sickness and other causes, it will be found that the reserve will not be able to supply wants, and the batteries will be undermanned.

Again, owing to the increase in the number of defence lights now in course of construction, the present establishment of the Submarine Mining Company Royal Engineers is inadequate. I have already proposed to the War Office to increase this establishment from 72 to 102, and by letter No. 20/Engineers/4094 (A G, 7), of the 12th May, 1904, this proposal has been considered reasonable. It, however, appears that this increase is not likely to be provided in the near future. I consider that it is a question of the utmost importance that when the lights are ready there should be enough men to man them. This deficiency cannot under existing circumstances be made good by the Engineer Volunteers, who are now one officer and 39 men under establishment, and that as most of the Engineer Volunteers are experts in their own business in the employment of the Dock Companies. they would be required by their own firms owing to the pressure of work entailed by the war.

5. The question of Port War Signal Stations is under reference home (my I. 48/04 of the 6th May, 1904) both by the Naval Commander-in-Chief and myself.

6. The examination lines have been modified to meet the latest requirements, and are now shown as drawn on the map. They have been considered with reference to the approved sites for guns and lights. At the western entrance the position of Green Island and Kellet Bank restricts the navigation in such a way that each part of the line can be worked independently of the other, the junction of the lines occurring in shallow water where ships cannot go. The advantage of placing the lines as shown keeps vessels outside the lighted area and beyond the observation

mines.

7. The Local Defence Committee had before them this question : "Whether it is advisable in the interests of trade to close the western entrance to the harbour of Hong Kong to ocean-going trade in time of war," and they came to the conclusion that it would be advisable. It appeared to them that it would in no way impede or hamper trade, but they thought that it would be advisable to keep open that portion of the entrance to the north of Stonecutters for the use of junk traffic only. In this way all ocean-going steamers would have to go through the Lyemun Pass, which would reduce the examination service requirements to this channel with the excep- tion of that for the junk traffic north of Stonecutters. When a steamer makes Gap Rock, which is about 36 miles from the harbour, it is just as easy for it to make the Lyemun Pass as the western channel.

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8. Another point the Committee had before them was, in view of recent events, can His Majesty's fleet prevent either the conveyance of torpedo craft to within striking distance of the harbour or the action of torpedo boat destroyers in these waters?" The Committee were unable to come to any decision without the advice of experts, and as the question is so inti- mately connected with harbour defence, I think the opinion of the Naval Commander-in-Chief should be obtained on the subject.

9. As to the provision of a refuge for women and children, it is generally agreed now that they can be accommodated locally and protected by special constables who would be enrolled.

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